Association Testing Agreements
Please select your preferred currency below:
Only for current association members
Testing Options
- Standard Tests – Our traditional testing method covers a measurement of distribution for diameter of fibres.
- Genetic Focus Tests – A more refined and precise method of testing that focusses on the genetic indicators for quality fleece. click here for more details
All samples are ‘conditioned’ before testing.
⚠️ Important Requirements for Genetic Focus Testing:
- Samples must be approximately the width of three fingers.
- You must provide the following details with your sample: sex, breed (huacaya or suri), fleece colour, and fleece year (e.g., 1st year, 2nd year).
Reports
Reports include average diameter, standard deviation and coefficient of variation of diameter, spinning fineness, curvature, fibre length and comfort factor. Fee also covers summaries, histograms and ‘along fibre’ micron profile graphs. Reports will be emailed (pdf and excel files)
How to take a sample – see below
Description
Partner Associations
Art of Fibre works with selected alpaca and camelid associations to offer members discounted fibre testing. These agreements with associations also ensure the members receive our research papers and benchmark data on a regular basis.
How it works:
Find your association below and open your member page.
Choose the member priced test, then place your order online.
Take a mid side sample (How to take a sample), label it clearly, then post it to Art of Fibre for analysis.
Member pricing is for current association members only, so you may be asked to confirm your membership.
Find your association
Select your association to view the member offer and the recommended tests.
- Alpaca Association e.V. (AAeV)
- Alliance Nationale Interprofessionnelle des Métiers de l’Alpaga (ANIM Alpaga)
Are you an association?
If you would like to offer your members discounted fibre testing, contact Art of Fibre and we will talk through options, pricing, and the simplest way to run it for your community.
⚠️ Important Requirements for Genetic Focus Testing:
- Samples must be approximately the width of three fingers.
- You must provide the following details with your sample: sex, breed (huacaya or suri), fleece colour, and fleece year (e.g., 1st year, 2nd year).
Art of Fibre’s ‘Quality Control Program’ for testing alpaca fibre
As wool testing devices are designed and programmed for testing sheep’s wool, the testing of alpaca fibre needs to account for the very low levels/absence of lanolin and the differences in fibre type and diameter variation compared to sheep’s wool. Knowledge of the settings and methods to test alpaca fibre have been developed by Art of Fibre over the 25 years we have been supporting alpaca breeders.
Our ‘Certified alpaca testing’ is subject to our own QA program. As the only industry standards for testing fibre are relevant to the testing of sheep’s wool, Art of Fibre have developed their own Quality Control scheme specific to testing alpaca fibre. This scheme includes:
1/ Twice daily calibration check using manufacturer’s calibration slide with polyester fibres.
2/ Calibration check for every testing batch using a reference alpaca sample for which the test results are known.
3/ The OFDA2000’s carry out a built in calibration check where it measures at regular intervals, 4 wire fibres with diameters ranging from 10 to 100 microns. If the the calibration check does not measure the fibres at the known diameter, the device will not function.
4/ Regular comparative testing trial using 5 alpaca samples that are tested on both our OFDA2000 devices to ensure any differences do not exceed acceptable margin of error of 0.3 microns.
5/ Twice a year, 10 alpaca samples are tested on both our OFDA’s with the same samples sent to the OFDA manufacturer in Western Australia and one other independent laboratory with experience with testing alpaca fibre.
6/ If any of the above checks result in discrepancies above the acceptable margin of error, testing services are frozen until the issue is resolved.
A certificate of compliance for any ‘Certified alpaca testing’ we carry out is available on request.
**For goat fibres, Art Of Fibre recommends an alpaca fibre test, however, we regret no certificate of compliance can be provided for goat fibre testing.
Step 1. Select the number of samples required
Step 2. Add to basket
Step 3. Post to the relevant address below
Please send samples from Europe to:
Art of Fibre
Hoofdstraat 152, 6061CH
Posterholt, The Netherlands.
Please send samples from the UK to:
Art of Fibre
Elmlea, Cold Norton Rd.
Latchingdon, Essex. CM3 6HP
UK
Note – please include a copy of the order confirmation with your samples.
For further details, contact Esther Verbeek (Europe), esther@artoffibre.com or Harley Taylor (UK), harley@artoffibre.com